


History 101

by lilliquinn



Series: Les Mis AU's [1]
Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, E/R - Freeform, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Share a textbook AU, ridiculous fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-28
Updated: 2014-08-28
Packaged: 2018-02-15 03:45:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2214579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilliquinn/pseuds/lilliquinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Enjolras is an angry freshman. Grantaire is a cynical sophomore.<br/>They have to share a History textbook.</p>
            </blockquote>





	History 101

**Author's Note:**

> this is pure fluff

The school is not a well-funded school.

It actually has half the textbooks needed for the students.

 

Of course, Enjolras learns this  _after_  he spends his first History class crossing out incorrect paragraphs and writing angry little paragraphs all inside the first chapter of the book, the one that he’ll have to share with another person.

Oops.

Of course, Enjolras didn’t really  _condone_  book-defacing, but the information was so  _off_  and so  _wrong..._ he couldn’t just let it be! It had to be fixed, and he was fully prepared to write many angry letters to the teachers at the end of the school year.

He hopes that, hey, maybe the person he shares the textbook with will learn something. 

Hopefully they won't get mad at him.

 

* * *

Grantaire opens his textbook, fully prepared for a boring class full of  _more_ reasons as to why humanity is failing and has been since it started, glorified genocide and washed-over murders.  What he finds is a bitter, angry, well-written diatribe against the book's version of history.

It looks like fresh ink.

He snaps a picture of it, and sends it to Eponine, with the caption "This year is going 2 be interesting".

From the back of the class, he smiles at the page, doodling a small cartoon of Christopher Columbus slaughtering Native Americans with a grin on his face, while a troupe of caricatured European men and women cheer him on at the bottom of the page. 

It's small, but it looks decent.

He hopes his bookmate enjoys it, and he  _does not_ wonder who he is.

* * *

 

When he finds the tiny drawing, he snorts in derision and surprise, sending half the class turning towards him.

He texts Combeferre, saying "history bookmate might not be so bad"

His drawing abilities are sub-par, but he manages a small stick figure of Columbus saying "I'm a HERO!" with a crowd of other stick figures crying in the background. It's not as good as his Bookmate's drawings, but that's okay. It's not like they know each other.

He still blacks out more paragraphs, writing in what  _actually_ happened, and nearly gets in trouble. He pretends he was writing on his hand, and everything is okay.

* * *

 

the next few weeks are a boring blur for both of them, but the funny, sardonic, angry notes and doodles in the History textbooks keep them both occupied.

One day Grantaire gets a small note in the Book, written on a ripped piece of lined paper.

"What's your name?"

He writes back 

"R. Sophomore. You?", and tries not to think about how conflicted he is over any sort of familiarity between them, how his bookmate seems so bright and full of life.

* * *

 

They both text their friends about their 'great bookmate', and their friends laugh and say that they don't know each other, to chill out and not go falling in love.

* * *

His name is R, and he's a sophomore. 

Enjolras is grinning down at his page, which is  _ridiculous_  because why should he get so excited he has no clue who "R" really is, or what he looks like, or if R's a he or a she or a they, and Enjolras chides himself for not thinking of that sooner, and reminds himself to use gender-neutral language until R reveals their gender.

"E. Freshman. I like your art."

He nearly scribbles the last part out, but decides that it's a harmless compliment, and he doesn't know who R  _is_  so  _why_ is this a problem?

That day in History, they read about Columbus, and Enjolras flips back to the first cartoon and smiles, then scribbles out all of that ridiculous, awful, Columbus-praising bullshit, writing in the margins about whitewashing and genocide and germ warfare.

* * *

 

They grow to know each other somewhat.

R is an art buff who adores Ancient Greece and Rome, and Enjolras loves history and politics (neither of those facts is really surprising to the other). R is Latino, which Enjolras learns when  _he_ is corrected on Cuban history. 

Enjolras is blond, Grantaire finds out, finding a gold hair in the pages. 

In Greek and Roman Mythology units, Grantaire starts writing in the margins as well, adding interesting facts to the mix of scribbled words and drawings. 

there's a huge picture of Apollo, and Grantaire draws a small arrow to it, with a "is that you?? apollo is a god of  _truth_ and all, and the blonde hair really helps" under it.

"no!!!" Enjolras writes back, embarrassed and flattered at once.

"whatever you say, Apollo."

* * *

 

They've been texting about the other constantly to their friends.

Eponine says not to get carried away and that Apollo probably isn't that great, don't get your hopes up.

Combeferre says that R sounds like a cynical asshole, and that he's probably not who Enjolras thinks he is.

* * *

 

It's nearing the end of the school year, and it's hot and muggy and sweltering. 

The notes have been going on for the whole year, and there's something extremely fascinating about flipping through the pages back to the beginning and finding their work on every single page, Apollo writing his vendettas in every color ink (R had hidden a purple Sharpie Pen in the pages for him, followed by a green one, and an orange one, and a yellow, and a red, until he had a whole pack of them. He only used them for the Book.), and R's silly, cynical drawings.

* * *

 

A week before school ended, R asked if he could use the book for an art project.

"okay, I guess. what kind?"

"you'll see apollo. you'll see."

"can you pay for the Book to be replaced?"

"nope."

* * *

 

The project was beautiful.

It was a double sided, mural-esque design, with some of the Book's pages in the middle of it. 

Some of R's original drawings were on the sides, including some of himself with a glorified, godlike figure with blond hair. Everything was connected with string and pins, like something out of a cop show procedural.

Some of the Book's pages were photocopied and enlarged, highlighting Apollo's diatribes in all their fervent glory.

It's in the Front Hall, and Enjolras is pretty sure it wasn't passed by school regulations.

He loves it.

He loves how it's funny, and how he was  _so important_  that R made an art project about him.

It's called "History and Apollo", and he thinks it's wonderful.

However, there's no one else there except Combeferre, who admits that 'Okay, this is really sweet", and a girl with too much eyeliner and spikes on her leather jacket. He goes up to her.

"Are you R?" she shakes her head, and Enjolras looks around. "Do you know where he is? I want to meet him."

"I think he's in my car. Dark green, back parking lot. Don't break his heart, kiddo."

He's running before he realized he's running.

"Hey, wait-" he hears Combeferre from the background, but the girl says something he can't hear, and presumably Combeferre goes back to class.

* * *

 

"R?" 

He's calling out a pseudonym for a boy he doesn't know but  _suspects_ is in a dark green car. 

It seems kind of sketchy, honestly.

He doesn't care.

"R!" He sees a boy, maybe a little older than him, lighting a cigarette. He turns, half shocked and half nervous.

"Apollo?"

"It's... It's you! My name's really Enjolras, I saw the project you made, and I... I love it. I love it and don't worry about paying for the book, I've got it, and I really love it and I think I might really like you. And, y'know, thank you."

R drops his cigarette, stomping on it with a black boot. He's wearing a t-shirt, and Enjolras can see worlds of stories on his arms, homemade tattoos and bug bites and scars. He sees R's crooked nose and brown eyes, and his curly hair, and he grins.

 

Apollo's smile is beautiful, like everything else about him. His gold hair, pale, unmarked skin, and tank top, and-fuck-it's almost too much.

"Fuck. Oh my god."

Apollo's smile fades, and he looks nervous now.

"R?"

"My name's Grantaire. I, uh, I... I might just like you too."

They smile at each other for what seems like a small infinity, before Apollo-  _Enjolras-_ gives Grantaire a hug.

_oh my god oh my god oh my god_

He hugs back.

This year wasn't so bad, really.

 

 


End file.
